On Sunday 18 October, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon officially opened Glide’s re-refinery in Pukekohe, the only facility of its kind in New Zealand.
It marks the end of a long journey for our team, and the start of a new one for the country’s waste oil. For decades, used oil collected from New Zealand’s workshops, dealerships and fleets has been burned as industrial fuel. Now it can be re-refined into high-quality base oil and used again.
“Every oil change in New Zealand has ended the same way. The old oil gets collected, and then it gets burned,” says Glide General Manager John Knox. “It’s a valuable resource, and we’ve been setting fire to it. This plant means that oil can now become new oil again, right here in Pukekohe.”
From concept to commissioning
We’ve been handling waste oil on our Subway Road site since 1984, first as WPC and, since late 2025, as Glide. The re-refinery reached practical completion in March, and our team has spent the months since commissioning and fine-tuning the plant.
“Our team has spent years getting this plant from concept to fully operational,” says John. “We wanted to prove the plant and set a pathway towards optimisation.”
The plant has also grown our team, from 20 people to 38.
How it works
- Collection and testing: waste oil is collected from our customers nationwide and tested on arrival.
- Pre-treatment: water, fuel residues and solids are removed.
- Vacuum distillation: the base oil is separated from heavier residues.
- Finishing: remaining impurities are removed, producing clear re-refined base oil (Glide RRBO), ready to be blended into new lubricants.
Around 70% of waste oil is base oil, and base oil doesn’t wear out. We recover up to 99% of it, and the rest of the waste oil (water, light cut, middle distillate and asphalt extender) is recovered and repurposed too. That means almost 100% of the waste oil we receive is reused.
A lower-carbon choice for New Zealand businesses
Glide’s re-refined base oil is estimated to have a carbon footprint at least 50% lower than virgin base oil made from crude oil.*
“For decades, New Zealand's only local option has been to burn its waste oil. Being the only facility of its kind here means we can finally change that,” says Glide Executive Director Gavin Thomas. “For workshops, dealerships and fleet operators, it’s a straightforward way to know their waste oil is being recycled, not burned.”
Choosing Glide comes at no extra cost, and we can give customers estimated carbon savings for their collections to support their own sustainability reporting.
Thank you
Thank you to the Prime Minister for officially opening the plant, and to our customers, partners and team for helping us reach this milestone. If you’d like to find out more about our waste oil collection service, or the carbon savings from your collections, get in touch with your Glide representative or contact our team.
*Estimate based on a carbon footprint study by Toitū Envirocare.
